The humble mung bean holds so many surprises, if cooked right it tastes superb, it’s low in cholesterol, good for detoxifying and high in protein. This dish can be made with or without natural yogurt, the yogurt give it a tangier flavour.

I made this spinach dish a couple of weeks to accompany one of my potato dishes. It’s easy, delicious and very healthy. I also love eating this spicy spinach in a sandwich – beats ham or cheese any day.

Method

Once the sauce is ready add the prepared chicken, stir in, cover the pot and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes

After 5 minutes add some hot boiled water to thin out the sauce and cover the chicken

Simmer the chicken for a further 25-30 minutes on a low heat

Then add the potatoes and simmer until they are cooked (about 10 minutes) – add more water if required

Turn off the heat when the potatoes are done – leave to rest for 10 minutes (be careful not to over cook the potatoes they will continue to cook while you are resting the dish)

Serve with roti, bread or rice.

* if you prefer not to use a whole chicken you could use skinned drumsticks, skinned thighs or chicken breast. The dish tastes great which ever part of the chicken you use but by using a whole chicken or meat on the bone the dish is far more flavoursome!

After 3 weeks of sun and sitting my ‘Lemon Pickles’ are perfectly pickled. We opened the jars yesterday for a taste test and they have exceeded my expectations when it comes to flavour. They are tangy, sour, spicy and sweet all at the same time.

Pickles are perfect for serving with poppadoms, dahls and other vegetarian dishes. You can chop them up smaller or serve them as they are. The sauce is so delicious that sometimes I even have some of it on bread or a roti.

I have transfered the pickles into a clean jar – this will prevent the formation of a white mould (which is harmless). Store the pickles in a cool dry place or fridge – they will last for months.

1. Peel and cut the potatoes into even sized chips then soak in cold water

2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan (preferably one that has a lid)

3. Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds and cover the pan with a lid

4. Once the seeds have popped remove the pan from the heat

5. Now add the hing and allow it to sizzle for a few seconds before you add the rest of the spices

6. Mix the spices all together to form a paste in the oil – return to a medium heat

7. Drain the potatoes and add to the pan – make sure the pan is hot but not too hot that the potatoes burn

8. Carefully mix the potatoes so that the spicy paste covers them

9. Cook the potatoes on a medium heat turning every few minutes so they are cooking evenly – keep the lid off for about 10 minutes

10. Cook with the lid half on for about 10 minutes – do not completely cover as you don’t want them to go soggy

11. You want the chips to be nicely brown and cooked through before you serve…

I only use as little oil as I can get away with – as you can see from the picture my chips were not oily. By soaking them in water, making sure the oil was hot enough when cooking and cooking with the lid partially off I ensured they were both cooked and crispy.

Got some friends coming over for lunch tomorrow so decided to marinade this chicken overnight so it’s extra tasty. ‘Oven Chicken’ is a fuss free dish that I won’t have to watch over tomorrow while I’m busy catching up with some old friends.

We’ve had a very busy month and I have been less than attentive to my children’s eating habits! Realising I had been dishing out a lot of pasta (homemade sauce of course) and fish fingers – I decided to make some vegetable roti as a heathy snack.

These are a wonderful snack and you can pack them full of almost any vegetable you have lying around. You make a spicy or a non-spicy version so they are perfect for kids. If I ever feel like my kids aren’t eating enough veg I roll out a few of these and they are eaten faster than I can cook them. They are also great to take on a picnic or if you want something tasty to pack when you are going on a long journey.

Ingredients

1 & 1/2 cups of Atta (chappati/roti flour) – you can buy this in the supermarket

extra bowl of Atta for dusting

1 medium potato cooked in the microwave – skinned and chopped up roughly